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Revival in Hand Block Printing: Cultural Charge in Rajasthan, Part Two
| Article
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19052 |
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Section : |
CULTURE
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| Issue
Date : |
1 / 1991 |
3,160 Words |
| Author
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Christi Ann Merrill
Christi Ann Merrill is a free-lance writer and teacher
residing in New York City. |
"Traditionally in Rajasthan." Explains Nemi Chand Khatri as he sits at his low table printing meter upon meter of cloth, "every woman had to keep her face veiled. She never sat with men, never walked beside men--even her husband, How could any one guess who she was?"
By the print of her skirt.
One look at a woman's ghaghra (skirt) could identify her caste; the print could also give hints as to whether she was married, widowed, or the mother of sons. In Rajasthan, these broad categories defined her place in society, and strict custom compelled her to wear only the prescribed fabric. A traveler, making his way through the desert in this region, could see a seemingly endless variety of prints: the vivid red owl on an indigo back ground, the deep maroon and green clove motif, the red pepper plants with turmeric yellow accents. Soon the prints became recognizable, even predictable, as a traveler learned exactly how the variety of prints reflected the stratification of society. Every woman within a caste would wear the same print as the others, the same print day after day.
The composition of Rajasthani society was as complex as the variety of prints themselves. Women would walk in small groups along the sandy roads, returning from the wells with clay pots full of water balanced on their heads as they strode along, the heavy cotton fabric of their ghaghras swishing with each step. The Ganchi (milk sellers) wore the cardamom print, while the Rebari (shepherds) and Kumhar (potters) adopted the more popular divining rod design. The motifs themselves were simply fanciful representations of the flora and fauna from the land around; from fenugreek to almond, ant to rose, the motifs bore little relation to the occupation of the caste that wore them. The choice of designs had been made, arbitrarily, generations before.
Hand-block printing in decline
Archaeological evidence dates the natural dye and resist printing process as far back as the Indus Valley civilization in 2,000 B.C. Through wars and droughts the tradition has carried on, with master dyers and block makers passing their accumulated knowledge on to posterity in an unbroken line. Century after century, these fabrics have played an integral part in Indian village life. Yet, with the introduction of mill prints and factory synthetics, the block prints are losing their appeal. People say that in the last twenty years the prevalence of the prints has declined
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